Lee Marvin biographer to host screening, Q&A at SCAD museum

Author Dwayne Epstein doesn’t think enough has been written about Lee Marvin, so he came up with “Point Blank,” a biography about the tough-talking, rough-hewn screen actor.

Epstein will host a screening of the Lee Marvin noir classic film “Point Blank” on Jan. 31. He’ll also sign books and host a question-and-answer session at the event, which is sponsored by the Savannah College of Art and Design Cinema Studies and Writing Department.

“It is the first official event of the book, sort of a launch,” Epstein says.

The title of the book didn’t come about until after the book’s art was done, “I went through several ideas,” Epstein says.

“I still hadn’t written the introduction. I came up with the title because Lee Marvin’s screen style and persona could be described by ‘Point Blank.’

“He was pretty much the father of modern American cinema violence,” Epstein says. “Everything graphic and brutal was done by him. He was in your face, direct.”

Epstein has been a fan of Marvin’s work as long as he can remember. “They used to show ‘The Dirty Dozen’ on TV in two parts,” he says.

“The more I saw, the more I liked. He really wasn’t like any other actor.”

Sometimes, the story of writing a book has just as many stories as the book itself, Epstein says.

“I discovered a lot of people who knew and worked with him and had never spoken on the record,” he says. “Many spoke for the first time and only time, as some have since died.”

One source was Marvin’s brother, Robert. “I got to know a side of Lee Marvin I never knew about,” Epstein says.

“I spoke with his son, his career-long agent, his lawyer in the palimony case. The more research I did, the the more fascinated I became.”

Marvin was a tough guy, through and through, but there also was more. “He wasn’t just a macho man, he was very thorough, intriguing, with a heck of a sense of humor,” Epstein says.

“He had ADHD as a child and was dyslexic. It really affected his education.”

A World War II veteran and former Marine, Marvin was in some of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater. “He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder most of his life,” Epstein says.

“They had to slug through jungles for days just to gain yardage. He was wounded on Saipan. Prior to that, he’d made 20 landings.”

Epstein discovered the letters Marvin wrote while serving during the war. “He had his demons in terms of having PTSD,” Epstein says.

“Some of the symptoms were alcoholism, nightmares, a tendency to violence. He encompassed all those symptoms, but he was aware had issues.

“He told a friend he would go into bars looking for a fight, but he’d look for fights where he was outnumbered so he wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Epstein says. “That to me was the most telling moment.”

At times, Marvin would black out during drinking escapades. “Even when he went on the wagon, there was trauma in his life that would put him right back on the wagon,” Epstein says.

Epstein got more than a book from the experience. “To this day, I’m good friends with Betty Marvin, Lee’s wife,” he says.

“She doesn’t let life get her down. I know for a fact that she still loves Lee, but just couldn’t live with him.”

There also were interviews with Marvin’s son. “His mother introduced me to me at some social function,” Epstein says.

“She made him talk to me. He didn’t trust his family’s life to a stranger.

“Talking to him five minutes you realize he’s got to be Lee Marvin’s son,” Epstein says. “It’s the same voice, the same gesture, but as a person, he’s very much his own man.”

While in some aspects Marvin’s life was dark, he incorporated that side into his work. “Once he discovered he could expand on some of the darker aspects of his personality, he realized he could do this,” Epstein says.

There’s no doubt Marvin forged new territory. “I don’t necessarily agree with his point on violence, but am fascinated with what he was capable of projecting,” Epstein says.

“The subject of violence always came up in interviews. Sometimes he would take it seriously.

“He was a film fan himself,” Epstein says. “He knew all the different John Wayne barroom brawls and violent scenes.”

The author of several biographies for young adults, Epstein penned “Point Blank” for adults.